Confessions of a Dangerous Mind - Classic movie!
01-22-09, 12:34 PM
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Confessions of a Dangerous Mind - Classic movie!
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)
I just watched this movie again after having seen it a little while ago and I absolutely love it. And not just because it has great acting, or great direction, or great coloring and cinematography, or carefully planned lighting, or innovative camera work, or perfect musical choice, or subtly genius sound design, or reality based but slightly fantastic production design, or that it raises just (at least) the slightest bit of doubt about the truth of Chuck Barris' life. It's all those things combined plus one simple fact, it is a wonderfully written story. Arguably Charlie Kauffman's most "mainstream" type of screenplay, the film balances the perfect amount of humor and seriousness first starting off in a happy, funny, kind-of- hip world, and then gradually spinning into a dimension based on disappointment and a brutalizing portrayal of life. but not life in the philosophical sense of "why are we here", but simply this one man's life. Rockwell's performance is dead-on in all scenes. He has perfect timing and you buy him in every moment, both when he's the awkward butt of a joke, or the careful, introverted individual contemplating his place on the planet. Barrymore balances perfectly this obvious sense of innocence, but presents it in a way that despite the naiveté, she is actually the most human character in the film, as well as the fact that she personifies the changing times. Clooney is subtle, and plays down his star status just enough that you buy him in this role of a clandestine nature - if ever there was the epitome of a cold war spy, he would be it. Julia Roberts is fun and Rutger Hauer has this aura around him that despite his limited appearance in the film, everything just makes sense. And don't forget the absolutely hysterical, inspired performance of Robert burke. He has perfect comedic timing (note especially the speech before the Dating Game - a little nod to Paul Newman's performance in "The Verdict", along with great antics). This is a film I think deserves the rare critique of being "perfect". it may not be your favorite film, but there are no holes in the story, nothing wrong in the presentation, everything just works. it is a perfect film. Lookout for Brad Pitt and Matt Damon.
I just watched this movie again after having seen it a little while ago and I absolutely love it. And not just because it has great acting, or great direction, or great coloring and cinematography, or carefully planned lighting, or innovative camera work, or perfect musical choice, or subtly genius sound design, or reality based but slightly fantastic production design, or that it raises just (at least) the slightest bit of doubt about the truth of Chuck Barris' life. It's all those things combined plus one simple fact, it is a wonderfully written story. Arguably Charlie Kauffman's most "mainstream" type of screenplay, the film balances the perfect amount of humor and seriousness first starting off in a happy, funny, kind-of- hip world, and then gradually spinning into a dimension based on disappointment and a brutalizing portrayal of life. but not life in the philosophical sense of "why are we here", but simply this one man's life. Rockwell's performance is dead-on in all scenes. He has perfect timing and you buy him in every moment, both when he's the awkward butt of a joke, or the careful, introverted individual contemplating his place on the planet. Barrymore balances perfectly this obvious sense of innocence, but presents it in a way that despite the naiveté, she is actually the most human character in the film, as well as the fact that she personifies the changing times. Clooney is subtle, and plays down his star status just enough that you buy him in this role of a clandestine nature - if ever there was the epitome of a cold war spy, he would be it. Julia Roberts is fun and Rutger Hauer has this aura around him that despite his limited appearance in the film, everything just makes sense. And don't forget the absolutely hysterical, inspired performance of Robert burke. He has perfect comedic timing (note especially the speech before the Dating Game - a little nod to Paul Newman's performance in "The Verdict", along with great antics). This is a film I think deserves the rare critique of being "perfect". it may not be your favorite film, but there are no holes in the story, nothing wrong in the presentation, everything just works. it is a perfect film. Lookout for Brad Pitt and Matt Damon.
01-22-09, 04:17 PM
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Re: Confessions of a Dangerous Mind - Classic movie!
Hey, new guy, search for the existing thread. Any movie that has been out for a while is going to have a lengthy thread about it: http://forum.dvdtalk.com/movie-talk/...rous-mind.html
And welcome to the forum.
And welcome to the forum.
01-22-09, 05:00 PM
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Re: Confessions of a Dangerous Mind - Classic movie!
I was about to post in here about how much I love this movie...and then I clicked the above link and realized I created that thread!
